tried an American Standard Precision Bass

hieronymous · January 30, 2010, 02:28:19 PM

So I was in Guitar Center (

) the other day trying to buy a wall wart (computer said that had four, guy at the counter couldn't find it). I like to just glance at what they have, and saw a cool looking P-Bass, black with black pickguard and maple fingerboard. Up on the wall, it looked great! Plus it was reduced to $899 - seems they normally go for $1199. I've been imagining getting a P as a counterpart to my Alembicized Telecaster Bass which lives in Massachusetts while I live here in California. When I realized maybe I could trade something in, the GAS really set in. So yesterday I took a side-trip over to GC to give it a whirl.

Fortunately it was quiet since it was the middle of the afternoon, and an older salesman helped me out, set me up with a Mesa Boogie combo that actually sounded really good. So here are my impressions of the bass:

1. The body and pickguard looked played - probably why it was marked down. Fairly lightweight. But I was bummed with the way the neck looked. I guess I'm spoiled by my mid-'70s Tele, but I didn't like the color of the maple - too pale? or the way the logo and "Precision Bass" looked - on that front, I think I'm spoiled by the Fender Japan reissues, which look more old school. Or maybe I've just turned into a vintage snob?

2. I was really surprised how uncomfortable the neck was. This is obviously the biggest bummer of all. I found it really awkward to play with good hand position (thumb behind the neck, which I use about half the time). I always assumed that my Tele neck was fat and chunky, but I think it might just be U shaped and actually not all that wide. Maybe it was the sharpness of the edge of the fretboard? But then again, I have an Alembic 5 string which I find comfortable, and even my 6-string Ibanez (one of the things I'm considering trading) feels comfortable and that neck is super-wide, though very shallow. So maybe I'm just out of practice? I've been playing keyboards more lately, haven't really played my basses for a month or two now.

3. The sound was great. Sounded like a P-Bass should - lots of bark, but nicely tamable with the tone knob or amp controls.

I actually played it for quite a while - they actually had some half-way decent music playing in the store, so I got to play along with the Doors (Roadhouse Blues?), the Sweet (Ballroom Blitz), Joe Walsh (Life's Been Good - I thought this was Manfred Mann!

) and Kiss (Detroit Rock City). It was fun - the salesman insisted I turn it up!

So, sorry for the rambling post, but I'm still considering this bass. I think I should pull out my Rickenbacker 4001 and play that a bit tonight, see if maybe I'm just out of practice! Maybe take a strap by the store and try it standing up too. Any thoughts on these American Standards? They have the graphite reinforcement and new bridges that you can do standard or string-thru-body. Or am I being a fool - if it didn't feel good, then I shouldn't even be considering it?!!

hieronymous · January 30, 2010, 04:04:24 PM

Update: I've basically decided not to go for it. I am guessing that the pickguard was replaced at some point - black on black is not a standard option, but beyond that, it doesn't have any protective covering, and doesn't have the USA sticker. I think I am better off waiting until my next trip to Japan and looking for an interesting Fender Japan and just shipping it back. Of course, the yen rate is against me now - it's dropped below 100 yen to the dollar!

Of course, this isn't even considering the "I don't need another bass" issue, but when did that ever stop me!

OldManC · January 30, 2010, 04:47:03 PM

Quote from: hieronymous on January 30, 2010, 04:04:24 PM
Of course, this isn't even considering the "I don't need another bass" issue, but when did that ever stop me!

This is why I love this place...

At the end of the day, even the best sounding bass in the world won't do you much good if it's uncomfortable for you to play. I'm envious of your ability not only to go to Japan, but have the language skills and cultural understanding to allow you to go shop hopping and find all those treasures. I'm sure you'll find one that speaks to you.

rahock · January 31, 2010, 06:31:49 AM

The biggest issue that I have when shopping at Guitar Center is that everything I pick up seems BADLY in need of set up work. I'm not real fussy about a lot of things either. I don't mind the action set high and in general I can see past a lot of imperfections, but in GC you really have to use your imagination when you pick something of the wall. You have to play an instrument and imagine what it would be like with the action set to your liking, a tweek to the neck, a decent set of strings etc.
Of course GC isn't the only place like this but it does seem to be about the top f the list for this kind of stuff. A few years ago I visited a store in California with a pretty good supply of MIA and MIJ Fenders and Squires . The guy who ran the store was a bass player and he did the setups on all of them. It was pretty obvious to me. Everything I played felt good.......no imagination required

Rick

Pilgrim · January 31, 2010, 11:11:52 AM

If you have more than one bass, you erally have to like playing each in addition to liking how they sound.

If you really don't love playing it, pass.

hieronymous · January 31, 2010, 03:08:34 PM

Quote from: OldManC on January 30, 2010, 04:47:03 PM
At the end of the day, even the best sounding bass in the world won't do you much good if it's uncomfortable for you to play. I'm envious of your ability not only to go to Japan, but have the language skills and cultural understanding to allow you to go shop hopping and find all those treasures. I'm sure you'll find one that speaks to you.

When I was in high school I used to love going to the guitar stores in Shibuya in Tokyo - there were tons of them, lots of amazing gear, 95% of it beyond my reach. But Fender Japan made a good product, and that's what I tended to go for. 20 years later when I lived there again during grad school I became fluent enough to go into stores and talk to the people working there. Picked up some cool stuff, mainly pedals but a few basses as well, most of which I sold when I moved back. I don't know if I would actually get one if I went to visit, but it worked to ease my GAS!

Quote from: rahock on January 31, 2010, 06:31:49 AM
The biggest issue that I have when shopping at Guitar Center is that everything I pick up seems BADLY in need of set up work. I'm not real fussy about a lot of things either. I don't mind the action set high and in general I can see past a lot of imperfections, but in GC you really have to use your imagination when you pick something of the wall. You have to play an instrument and imagine what it would be like with the action set to your liking, a tweek to the neck, a decent set of strings etc.
Of course GC isn't the only place like this but it does seem to be about the top f the list for this kind of stuff. A few years ago I visited a store in California with a pretty good supply of MIA and MIJ Fenders and Squires . The guy who ran the store was a bass player and he did the setups on all of them. It was pretty obvious to me. Everything I played felt good.......no imagination required
Rick

I think the action and setup were actually decent - I tend to go for higher action, and actually everything about the bass was comfortable except for something about the neck. I like that idea of using your imagination at GC though! Visualize what the bass could feel like... Go to your happy place... What do you see? An 8-string Alembic, a fretless Rickenbacker or maple-fingerboard mid-'70s P, ahh, then I would be happy...

Quote from: Pilgrim on January 31, 2010, 11:11:52 AM
If you have more than one bass, you erally have to like playing each in addition to liking how they sound.

If you really don't love playing it, pass.

Well said! All the basses I currently own are unique and fulfill their own function - if I'm going to get a P, it's going to have to be something special.

rahock · February 01, 2010, 10:43:34 AM

When I play my 51 P RI I also position my thumb at the neck joint about half the time also, on my 70 that's not a comfortable a position for some reason.
As to the feel of the neck that bothered you, that could be a needed neck adjustment or possibly the edges of the frets need to be filed down a bit.
When I bought my Olympia acoustic, the frets were kind of squared off rather than rounded off to fit the contour of the neck. That was an uncomforable feel , but it took me a while to actually figure out what it was that was bothering me. I also discovered a few frets weren't tapped in properly and that is what alerted me to take a harder look at the frets in general. I had to use a lot of imagination in the store before I bought that thing

After a trip to my tech buddy it plays like a dream.
Then again, there is a lot of stuff out there that just plain doesn't feel right to me and I don't know how to explain it. I'm not that fussy of a guy either

I guess that's why I could never buy a bass online. I've got to hold it in my hands and it either talks to me, or it doesn't.
Maybe I've been wearing this damn aluminum foil hat too long

Rick

OldManC · February 01, 2010, 01:28:03 PM

For a few years there I bought basses and guitars online all the time. Prices were such that I could flip what didn't speak to me (and I totally get that statement) and in the meantime I got some really great deals. Nowadays it's a little harder to do with prices having come up so much. Even with things flattening out I doubt I'm gonna find a Thunderbird for $700 or a 74 P (with a pearl block Jazz neck) for $450! I'm still pissed I missed that one (I was at work and sniping programs weren't prevalent yet).

Deathshead · February 02, 2010, 06:58:18 AM

I think they are making those necks out of green wood now, lol atleast they look like it,

for the money, the MIJ 70's p or the mim 50' P are homeruns, They have the look, and the feel, and of course the tone.

hieronymous · February 02, 2010, 10:46:42 AM

Quote from: Deathshead on February 02, 2010, 06:58:18 AM
I think they are making those necks out of green wood now, lol atleast they look like it,

for the money, the MIJ 70's p or the mim 50' P are homeruns, They have the look, and the feel, and of course the tone.

I guess I'm pretty shallow - one of the things that I really didn't like about it as soon as it came off the wall was the color of the neck!

eb2 · February 02, 2010, 11:41:40 AM

I am not a huge fan of the latest Fender aesthetics. The foil logos - and spaghetti one on the Jazz - look odd to me, and I get how the older style stuff looks right. I have a couple of local places that have been Fender dealers for years, and their stuff is always set up decent. They tweak their stuff. The local GC has Fenders with set ups all over the place - stiff, intonation off, sky high action, etc. They are no better than Best Buy which has inconsistent set ups. I used to work for GC years ago, and if we found dog set ups, we would take down time to tweak obvious stuff. But generally it came out of the box, and hit the floor, and I think nowadays that is the rule. I have played recent American standard P and Jazz basses, and I haven't been that into them. I did play the Mexican 50s classic P bass a couple of years ago and it was pretty dang good.

rockinrayduke · February 02, 2010, 04:40:17 PM

Why the hell don't they just put the 70's logo back on the P-Bass and be done? Nothing they've done since then looks anywhere as good.

godofthunder · February 03, 2010, 05:16:46 PM

I bought a '08 AS Jazz bass for our Zep tribute set. Brand new I paid $750.00. Over all I liked the bass, Build quality is excellent. One thing I don't like are the graphite rods in the neck, makes things two stiff and less resonant imho. Well the bass has a little mishap on stage so I bought a Road Worn neck for it. Completeley changed the character of the bass , much more "alive sounding". I also put Seymour Duncan Hot For Jazz pups in her. Nice bass.........................now. This is what she sounds like.

Denis · February 04, 2010, 11:50:41 AM

Nice. Your guitar player is as good as Jimmy Page.

hieronymous · February 05, 2010, 10:44:49 PM

Quote from: godofthunder on February 03, 2010, 05:16:46 PM
I bought a '08 AS Jazz bass for our Zep tribute set. Brand new I paid $750.00. Over all I liked the bass, Build quality is excellent. One thing I don't like are the graphite rods in the neck, makes things two stiff and less resonant imho. Well the bass has a little mishap on stage so I bought a Road Worn neck for it. Completeley changed the character of the bass , much more "alive sounding". I also put Seymour Duncan Hot For Jazz pups in her. Nice bass.........................now. This is what she sounds like.

Hey, the recording sounds good - you can actually hear the bass! Interesting insights into the graphite rod aspect.